The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-18

LAND BILLS AND COERCION.

LAND BILLS AND COERCION.
The British Parliament the Scene of
Another Lively Debate.
LONDON, May 1.-THE House of Lords
has passed the English land transfer bill
through committee pro formd The bill
goes again to the committee on June 10.
The Irish land bill is still in committee.
The debate on the coercion bill was re-
sumed this evening. Sir William Vernon
Harcourt moved an amendment exempting
from secret inquiry all proceedings relating
to public feeling or agrarian movements, in
Guiding combinations to obtain reductions
of rent. He said that if the government
were content to direct inquiries authorized
under the bill into such offenses
as murder, arson, ''moonlighting" and mutt
lation of cattle, the bill might pass. The
bill would then deal with actual crimes.
1t would not be measure creating offenses.
In its present form the bill might apply to
matters never before recognized as an ele-
ment of incrimination. The House ought
not to allow measure to pass for the pur-
pose of depressing crime whicH really had
another object.
AIMED AT COMBINATION.
What was the governments intention:
Did they propose to suppress combinations
against landlords Was breach of contract
to be made criminal offensel Would the
government give to Irish tenants the same
assurances of protection as was givento la
borers in England9 [Cheers.l
Would they make it clear that the ten
ants rights of combining with regard to
land, cultivation of which was their indus
try, would be placed upon the same footing
with the rights of English worl1men
with regard to their labor If there was a
land trades union in Ireland, would the bill
suppress it? [Cheers1 If so, on what ground
did the government distinguish between an
Irish trades union and an English trades
union? [Cheers.]
BALFoUR TO THE BREAc'.
Mr.. Balfour, Chief Secretary for Ireland,
held that the offenses embraced in the meas
ure had been sufficiently defined, and that
the amendment, if adopted, would simply
render the bill futile, leaving out nearly all
agrarian offenses. He said that
comparison of the trades union
with Irish conspiracy to pay
no rent was obviously absurd. The
law of conspiracy regarding wages had a
distinct history from what was now occur
ing in Ireland. The bill dealt with con-
spiracy to defraud landlords, with conspi-
racy TO prevent the free exercise of private
and public rights in matters of trade and
to the suggestion that the
bill would be allowed to progress if the gov
ernment conceded the amendment he would
distinctly intimate that the government
would not yield to destruction anything
they refused to argument. [Cheers.1
AN INoUIsITIoN SPECTRE.
Mr. Dillon contended that unless the
amendments were accepted the government
would be able to imprison everybody who
might be politically obnoxious. Landlords
who had not received their rents might
swear out information of conspiracy,
causing all sorts of persons to
be brought up for bogus inquiry. Ii they
refused to answer questions such persons
might be imprisoned as long as the govern
ment chose. [Cries Of hear, hearl
Mr.. Gladstone said he regretted that the
government had failed to recognize the
Justice of granting Irish tenants the
same protection they had afforded
English workmen as to boycotting.
The government must explain what was
meant by that term. Was intimidation in
cluded, or only boycotting leading to exclu-
sive dealing? [Hear. Hearl When Mr.
Balfour said that the government refused to
yield to obstruction, the opposition's re-
to yield to tyranny. [Cheers.]
AlhbD Al AIAhlNAb
Sir r. E. Webster, Attorney General,
asked whether it could be seriously con-
tended that there was any real analogy be-
tween the case of the British workman and
that of the Irish tenant. There was wide
distinction between honest combination of
tenants who were trying to get landlords to
reduce rents and combination among those
who could pay, but who were bringing out
side association to assist them in evading the
payment Of what was due [Cries of hear,
hear The bill was solely aimed at dealing
with criminal conspiracy. II was impossi-
bic to give that exact definition of boycott
ing which Mr.. Gladstone demanded It
would surpass the wit of man to define what
the developments of boycotting might be,
but they knew the offense, and there was no
danger that injustice would be done.
THE ROOT OF BoYCoTTING.
Supporting vice was at the root of all Of
these boycotting combinations. Once an
inquiry was begun into any one form of
boycotting there was no logical halting
place The inquiry must be pursued until
all forms OF evil had been investigated
[Cheersl
Thomas O'Comor said that combinations
of landlords to keep rack rents at the starva-
ton point would be permitted, while combi-
nations of tenants to defeat cXtortion would
be made criminal oifense [Cries of hear,
hearl He asked il there was the slightest
chance that the measure would ever be used
against the combination of landlords
The amendment was negatived by vote
of PAP to $50.
Mr.. Parnell will Try to appear in the
House of Commons tomorrow afternoon.
He has been advised not to attend the even
ing sitting
At meeting Of the Liberal Unionist COM
tg- -duxy .ifaaanffnpg niealOcrI